Cooking Class in Bangkok: Our Foray Into a Thai Kitchen

Cooking Class in Bangkok: Our Foray Into a Thai Kitchen

We followed our cooking class instructor, Carole, down a dimly-lit Bangkok passageway that opened up into a large marketplace. Walking among mounds of fresh cabbage, beansprouts, Thai eggplants, mushrooms, dried shrimp and fish, Carole taught us how to select the best ingredients for the dishes we would be cooking that morning: Kang Khiao Wan Gai (Green Curry with Chicken), Pad Thai with Tofu & Chicken, and Pumpkin in Sweet Coconut Milk.

Vendors protectively guarded their wares and produce. A grey and white tabby cat groomed herself while lounging atop a stack of brown paper. Another feline wove in and out between stacks of wrapped brown eggs. I tread carefully, lest other crawling creatures, large or small, cross my path.

With our bags full of fresh vegetables, we returned to Bangkok’s frenetic streets, which were bathed in sunlight. We dodged taxis, motorbikes and tuktuks, each chugging along with its own unique sound. Upon arriving at our cooking school, Carole handed us an apron and knife. Soon the real work began.

For the next three hours, we chopped, minced, pounded, fried, stirred and arranged our culinary delights in a passionate manner. We then devoured them with similar vigor. With full bellies, and a take out baggie of Pad Thai in hand, we trekked back to our guesthouse on Samsen Road. We had always appreciated Thai Green Curry. But, after learning that nearly ten ingredients comprise its paste – and after pounding that mélange of ingredients for what seemed like an eternity – we had a newfound respect for the dish and its cooks.

Here are the recipes, courtesy of our Lemongrass Cooking class. Bon appétit, or as they say here in Thailand, ทานให้อร่อยนะครับ/คะ!

Preparation:

Add coconut milk, stirring for another minute. Then, bring to a boil. Add Kaffir lime leaves, quartered Thai eggplants and pea eggplants. Cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked and the eggplant is tender.

Preparation:

Remove the shrimp shell but leave the tails (for good appearance). Then, cut open the back of each shrimp to remove the veins. Also clean the mushrooms with water and dry them before wedging each into quarters.

Thai Style Fried Noodles with Chicken (Pad Thai)

Pad Thai Sauce Ingredients:

Pad Thai Sauce Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in the saucepan. Let them boil and stir until well-mixed. Reserve.

Other Ingredients:

¼ c vegetable oil

1 T. preserved Chinese radish, chopped

1 whole egg

10 g. Chinese chive, cut into 2” long pieces

100 g. bean sprouts, cleaned

200 g. thin rice noodles

1 T. dried shrimp

20 g. tofu, cut into matchstick pieces

1 chicken breast, sliced into about 15 pieces

1 T. shallot, chopped

Preparation:

Fry the tofu, Chinese preserved radish, dried shrimp and shallots in hot oil until medium brown on each side. Set aside.

Add noodles and two spoons of the Pad Thai sauce. Stir. When the noodles soften a bit, mix well. Be careful not to make a noodle mush. Try to keep the noodles separated as much as possible, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Spread them out.

Cook the noodles until they are soft. It may take a minute or two. Taste to be sure they are done. If they get too dry, you may need to add a bit more water.

When the noodles are done, push them to the side to create room for the egg. Crack the egg into the space and scramble it with your spatula and cover the bottom of the pan. Throw the noodles on top of the egg.

Add the chives, half of the peanuts and half of the bean sprouts. Mix well and remove from heat to a plate.

Pumpkin in Sweet Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

2 c. pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2″ x ½” x ½” slices.

2 T. palm sugar

1/3 c. coconut cream

½ c. coconut milk

½ t. salt

drinking water

Preparation:

Planning Pointers:

We took our half-day cooking course with the Lemongrass Cooking School in Bangkok, which is not far from the Khaosan Road area. Though we booked our course through an office in person, it seems as though you can contact them in advance at the above site.

Yes, those are our certificates – we’re now officially Thai cooking school graduates. Though, with the plethora of fake IDs and certificates blatantly for sale on nearby notorious Khaosan Road, I’m not sure how important certificates and diplomas really are :-)

Didn’t see any certificates of that sort, but if you’re in the market for a driver’s license, TEFL certificate, bachelor’s degree diploma or journalist credentials, it seems the faux producers in Bangkok can set one up. Seeing that such documents were theoretically at everyone’s fingertips made us question pretty much any credential (including the tuk tuk driver’s attempts to get us to go suit shopping so that they could supposedly get free gas coupons from the Thai government). We were unfortunately always on guard in the big city!

Ciki, as we’re now back in Europe, I’m especially missing the spiciness of Asian cuisine. We also did classes in India and Vietnam, and I can’t say that I had a favorite. All of the food was incredible, even though novice cooks such as ourselves were stirring the pot. :)

Sonia, interesting to hear that it’s challenging to eat as a vegetarian in Thailand. Do you eat eggs & dairy? I’m a ‘selectarian’ meat eater (no red meat or pork) and also cannot eat gluten. That makes eating on the road a bit tricky at times, but it’s worth the challenge so that we can explore new corners of the world. :)

Looks as though you had an enjoyable and productive time in Koh Tao. Surprisingly, we never made it to any of the Thai islands.